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Present Tense: Regular -er Verbs

FoundationHigherAQA

Learn Present Tense: Regular -er Verbs for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Regular -er verbs drop the ending and add -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

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Higher

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Topic overview

Regular -er verbs are the largest group in French, and once the pattern is learned it applies to hundreds of verbs.

To form the present tense, remove the -er from the infinitive to leave the stem, then add the endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. So parler gives je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent.

The pronunciation catches people out. Four of the six forms — parle, parles, parle and parlent — all sound identical, because the endings -e, -es and -ent are silent. Only nous parlons and vous parlez sound different. This matters for listening, where the subject pronoun is the only clue to which form was used.

Revision notes

Forming the tense

Remove -er from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the endings.

Endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. Parler becomes parl-, giving je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent.

Silent endings

The endings -e, -es and -ent are all silent.

So parle, parles, parle and parlent are pronounced identically. Only parlons and parlez sound different. In listening tasks the subject pronoun is the only reliable clue.

The scope of the pattern

Most French verbs are regular -er verbs.

Aimer, habiter, travailler, jouer, regarder, écouter, manger and hundreds more all follow it. Learning this one pattern unlocks the majority of the verbs on the specification.

Key points

  • Remove -er to find the stem.
  • The endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.
  • Most French verbs follow this pattern.
  • The -e, -es and -ent endings are silent.
  • Four forms sound identical.
  • Only -ons and -ez sound different.

Worked examples

Example 1

Give the nous form of the verb parler in the present tense. [2 marks]

Working

nous parlonsremove -er and add the nous ending
The stem is parl- and the ending for nous is -onsexplain the formation

Example 2

Give the ils form of the verb habiter. [2 marks]

Working

ils habitentremove -er and add the ils ending
The ending -ent is added to the stem habit-, and it is silentexplain the formation and pronunciation

Example 3

Explain why listening tasks can be difficult with -er verbs. [2 marks]

Working

The endings -e, -es and -ent are all silent, so four forms sound identicalstate the problem
so the subject pronoun is the only way to tell which form was usedexplain what to listen for

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting to remove the -er.

    The stem is what remains: parl-, not parler-.

  • Pronouncing the -ent ending.

    It is completely silent.

  • Using the infinitive as a present tense form.

    Je parler is wrong; it must be je parle.

  • Mixing up -ons and -ez.

    -ons is for nous, -ez is for vous.

Exam tips

  • Remove -er first, then add the ending.
  • Learn the six endings as a set.
  • Listen for the subject pronoun, not the ending.
  • Apply the pattern to any new -er verb.

Key terms

Infinitive
The base form of a verb, ending in -er.
Stem
What remains after removing -er.
Ending
The letters added to the stem for each person.
Silent ending
An ending that is written but not pronounced.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.